Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:47 PM PST

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"'It' would be the breast cancer I had diagnosed (I forgo the verb 'battled' since, to my way of thinking, all I did was lie back and let stuff be done to me) in 1997 and thought banished forever by July 1998, chronicled right here in a monthly series called 'brave and inspirational' by some and 'obliviously and freakishly cheerful' by others."

In the Times' health section - and later on her Web site, CancerChick.com - Herczog wrote about her invasive breast cancer, often leavening the poignancy with sardonic wit.

"People were definitely shocked by her writing," her husband said. "They'd say, 'How can you put so much humor into something so scary?' But ... they would see she was making it less scary ... that you could be this real person and have cancer."

She joked about planning to explore her "inner drag queen by wearing wigs," then said: "But ... hearing someone tell you that removing your breast is a possibility ... well, pass the Kleenex."

At the end of her first round of treatment in 1998, Herczog called Julia Child her "new heroine": "She had a mastectomy in the 1950s. The math alone - 40 years' survival-is heartening, but what's more, you know what she's been eating since then? That's right. Cream sauces."

When it was clear that Herczog's third go-round with cancer would be her last, her Jan. 6 CancerChick post was laced with whimsy but got straight to the point: "My goose, she is cooked."

She was born March 31, 1964, in Santa Monica, Calif., to Richard and Claudia Herczog and grew up in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Later, her father was an executive with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.

At the University of California, Los Angeles, Herczog earned a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's in film. While a freelance journalist, she worked in script development for a film company and became a freelance script reader.

Through the local music scene, she met Hochman, a longtime pop music writer for the Times and other publications. They married in 1995 at a crawfish boil in Louisiana's Cajun country.

New Orleans was a favorite destination for the couple, who often attended the Jazz & Heritage Festival and who bought a home there.

As a travel writer, Herczog produced a number of books for Frommer's, including several on Las Vegas and a well-reviewed post-Katrina guide to New Orleans.

On another Web site, Plucky Survivors See America, she and her best friend, Rick Garman, who has a chronic illness, documented annual cross-country road trips "that always lifted our spirits," Garman said.

In 2007, she published a novel, "Figures of Echo," about an 11-year-old who discovers that her widowed father is not her biological father. The story was adapted into a Lifetime movie, "Custody."

Several years ago, Herczog began an intellectual quest unrelated to her illness, her husband said, and started working toward a doctorate in the philosophy of religion and theology. She called it "God school."

Three days before she died, she was awarded a master's degree in the subject from Claremont Graduate University in a small ceremony at her home.

In addition to her husband, Herczog is survived by her mother, Claudia, of Carpinteria, Calif.; sister Deborah, of Stoddard, Wis.; and brother Rich of Culver City, Calif.

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Aspirin May Boost Breast Cancer Survival, But Clinical Trials Are ... - Daily Finance

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 12:51 PM PST

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The original maker of aspirin, Bayer AG, probably couldn't be happier: Its so-called wonder drug is already famously touted as helping to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and the list of diseases and disorders that it and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) combat continues to grow. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology says we can add another benefit to aspirin's resume: breast cancer survival.

The study of 4,164 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer showed that women taking aspirin regularly are 50% less likely to die and had a 50% lower risk of the cancer returning.

The study was led by Dr. Michelle Holmes of Harvard Medical School; she and her colleagues evaluated aspirin use among women participating in the Nurses' Health Study at least one year after they had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Interestingly, those who took aspirin most often -- six to seven days a week -- had only a 64% lower risk of death during the follow-up period, compared to a 71% risk reduction among those who took aspirin two to five days a week. Similarly, the risk of the cancer spreading was reduced by 43% and 60%, respectively. The researchers didn't have access to exact doses, however.

"This is the first study to find that aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of cancer spread and death for women who have been treated for early-stage breast cancer, " said Holmes. "If these findings are confirmed in other clinical trials, taking aspirin may become another simple, low-cost and relatively safe tool to help women with breast cancer live longer, healthier lives."

Experts Urge Caution

And therein lies the crux of the problem with celebrating these results immediately: They are based on data from an observational study, which does not establish definitive cause and effect, as opposed to a clinical trial, which does. Essentially, the Nurses' Health Study is a massive, decades-long examination of how an array of lifestyle choices impact the participants' health.

So, while the findings do agree with earlier studies in colon cancer patients, as well as with lab results showing that aspirin inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells, a proper clinical trial still needs to be done. Holmes postulates that it may be the anti-inflammatory properties of aspirin that are at work here, as cancer is being viewed more and more in by medical professionals as an inflammatory disease.

But aspirin (generically, acetylsalicylic acid) can also cause gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding. It is for these reasons that the medical community revised its "aspirin-a-day" mantra to target only people with certain risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.

Aspirin's Benefits Come With Certain Risks

Another cautionary note: Some previous conclusions based on data from the Nurses' Health Study have turned out to be wrong, most famously, the study which suggested that vitamin E lowered rates of heart disease. The effect could not be reproduced in randomized clinical trials.

It is for these reasons that women who have had breast cancer should not start taking aspirin on a regular basis without consulting their doctors, Holmes says. Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society stresses this as well: "It would be premature for breast cancer survivors to use aspirin in order to reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence or of dying from their disease."

Even more important, aspirin should not be considered a substitute for established cancer treatments. And during cancer treatments, aspirin is usually avoided because it can act as a blood thinner, which could further increase complications.

An aspirin a day -- or every other day? Only if your doctor says yes.

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Latinas and Breast Cancer Target of Major International Study with $1 ... - TMCnet

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:35 PM PST

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WASHINGTON --(Business Wire)-- The largest study ever of breast cancer in Latin American women is being launched this year in a unique multi-country, public/private partnership with $1 million in additional funding from the world's largest breast cancer organization, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Spearheaded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Latin American Cancer Program Development, the partnership signed today will support the development of programs for cancer research, clinical trials, training programs, technology and capacity building in five Latin American countries, with implications for Latinas in the United States and globally.

"Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in Latinas here in the United States and around the world, and requires a large-scale effort to address and overcome," said Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Komen for the Cure. "This landmark collaboration between Komen, NCI, and five Latin American countries will help us get to answers about genetics, environment and social issues that contribute to breast cancer deaths in Latinas." "Importantly," Brinker said, "They will also help us develop strategies to reduce breast cancer incidence and death in this large and growing group -- both in Latin American countries and among Hispanic populations here in the U.S." The research will be conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. Brinker and NCI Director, John E. Niederhuber, M.D., signed an agreement for funding today in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. This follows the signing of bilateral agreements among the five countries and the NCI last fall.

The Latin American countries and the United States will link their research efforts through the cancer Biomedical Informatics (News - Alert) Grid, an information network that allows researchers to share data and knowledge. They also will develop pilot projects to enhance research and improve delivery of cancer treatments to patients in the United States and Latin America.

This is the first major multi-country research effort specifically aimed at women in Latin American countries.

A crucial first step is building the information database to identify breast cancer patterns in Latin women.

"Clearly, making continued progress against cancer in the United States, and certainly across the globe, will require many resources, both public and private. For this initiative, we are most grateful for the generous support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure," Niederhuber said. "Not only is it crucial that we understand cancer incidence and trends in different countries; newfound genetic, genomic, and population-based knowledge will help elucidate the origins of breast cancer in Hispanic women from all of our nations." From there, the project will develop strategies for improved breast cancer detection, management and treatment in Latin America, enhanced research training and developing a clinical research infrastructure for the future.

An estimated 14,000 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in U.S. Hispanic women in 2009, with more than 2,200 deaths, making breast cancer the leading cause of cancer death among Latina women in the U.S. Breast cancer in Latinas is more often diagnosed at a later stage (when the disease is more advanced) than when found in non-Hispanic women.

Cancer incidence in Latin American countries continues to rise, according to NCI, and takes a large toll on Hispanic/Latino populations in the United States. It is estimated that the U.S. Hispanic population will climb to nearly 60 million and represent approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population by 2020. Reducing the burden of cancer in the United States and abroad will depend heavily on understanding and controlling cancer in this population.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is now the world's largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with nearly $1.5 billion invested to date. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

About the National Cancer Institute (NCI) NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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Breast Cancer

Friday, February 19, 2010

plus 2, Mary Susan Herczog, who chronicled her breast cancer experience, dies ... - The State

plus 2, Mary Susan Herczog, who chronicled her breast cancer experience, dies ... - The State

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